People who make it their business to classify such things call them “malt shop books”—the numerous young-adult series written in the 1950s and 1960s. I inherited a few of my mother’s Betty Cavannas in elementary school, and by age 12 I was hooked, scanning library sales and thrift stores for the tiny patch of tartan that denoted a vintage Scholastic paperback or the telltale words that suggested a title targeted at the teenage reader.

I learned how varied the genre was: the serious and introspective Betty Cavanna books; Janet Lambert’s series, which take place in military families; the more frivolous Rosamond du Jardins; the slightly odd Lenora Mattingly Webers, which center around the independent-minded Malone family.

Many of these books deal with “issues”—teen drinking, peer pressure, fast crowds. But the overall picture of teen life is wholesome and comforting. Parents tend to be supportive and families functional; the occasional sibling rivalry generally gives way to mutual understanding.

I was an awkward teenager. And my New York City school—full of wealthy, sophisticated teenagers whom I found terrifying—was a far cry from the suburban utopia of the malt shop books. A late bloomer who was painfully shy and painfully aware of not looking right in the clothes my mom bought me, I dreamed of a world in which virtue was rewarded; boys fell for the smart, quiet girls and were happy with wholesome dates; and everyone knew exactly how to dress for every occasion. I recognized that the books were idealized, but my interest was more than ironic or curious: I found the fictional universe of my collection a true refuge.

I enjoyed all the series, from Candy Kane (a precocious singer on an Army base) to Marty Smith (a gutsy journalism undergrad), but one series became my favorite: Anne Emery’s Dinny Gordon books. Emery is better known for other series—the Sally and Jean Burnaby books, the 4-H centric Jane Ellisons, the Pat Marlowe stories, the Sue Morgan series. But Dinny Gordon was, and remains, my favorite.

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Emery moved as a child to the area that would feature as the setting of most of her books: Evanston, Illinois, where her father was a professor. After attending Northwestern herself, Emery traveled extensively with her parents before becoming an elementary-school teacher in the Evanston system. She and husband John Emery would go on to have five daughters, and after retiring from teaching Emery launched a long and successful writing career.

Emery brought an unusual sensitivity to her writing for teens, which is never condescending and pays more than passing attention to real issues and problems. Yes, the universe is basically safe and comforting, but the characters feel real, and their problems aren’t solved overnight after one talk with an omniscient parent.

In Dinny Gordon, Emery created a heroine who, strange name aside, rang particularly true. When we meet Dinny, she’s starting her freshman year at Rosemont High in a bucolic college town that’s a stand-in for Evanston. Unlike her pretty and popular older sister, Roxy, Dinny is small, plain, shy, and resolutely uninterested in boys. She hangs out with other misfits: the awkwardly tall Blythe, the overweight Melinda, and Sue, who suffers from acne. None of these is a tragedy, of course, but enough to damage a young teen’s fragile self-confidence.

Dinny is also brainy. Her passion is for archeology, and she’s a diligent student. When her school hosts a science competition, Dinny wins accolades for her model of Pompeii—even as her friends begin to abandon her for the lure of dating, much to the disgust of the independent Dinny.

I related to Dinny’s defensive disinterest in romance and her unwillingness to grow up. I also related to the book’s other plot point: Dinny’s inability to discourage the attentions of an awkward nerd, Clyve, who’s new in town and whom her parents urge her to befriend. Kindhearted and awkward herself, Dinny doesn’t want to hurt the older boy’s feelings, and she even goes so far as to invite him to a turnabout dance. That she gets the flu at the last minute and has to pawn him off on Melinda is a happy resolution for everyone.

Sophomore year finds Dinny at odds with her friend Sue, who’s dating a charming southern boy with an interest in classics. He and Dinny develop a strong connection. Sue’s complexion problems behind her, she has emerged as a popular butterfly, and the girls have increasingly little in common. After Dinny too begins dating (Curt, the charming southern boy), things remain tenuous between the former friends—the book does not see a neat resolution to what are real problems.

Dinny Gordon: Junior is in many ways the most serious of the series, dealing with a subject I’d never seen broached in a young-adult book: anti-Semitism. After a Jewish family moves to town, Dinny becomes friends with Debbie Goldman, while Melinda starts dating Debbie’s brother, Mike. Debbie is a talented artist with an interest in ancient history, and Mike is a popular scholar and athlete. However, they quickly run into prejudice, including from Dinny’s boyfriend. Ultimately, Dinny and Curt break up over the issue.

And that, for years, was all I knew: Dinny was left, as far as I was concerned, alone and principled after her junior year. I could not find the fourth book in the series. Fifteen years ago, it was not simply a question of going to AbeBooks or Amazon, and all my foraging in bookstores and at library sales was for naught. I wanted—no, needed—to know that Dinny ended up OK, pursuing a satisfying career, and with a boy who appreciated her.

It wasn’t until my own senior year at the U of C that I found a copy—or, rather, my mother did, at a lucky tag sale. I couldn’t wait to dig in and see what had become of my favorite fictional friend, and what I found did not disappoint: the book opened at the Oriental Institute. Dinny had gone to UChicago to study for the summer with a prominent Israeli archeologist, who encouraged her interests. Back home, she falls in with an older boyfriend: a college boy whose only interests are contemporary politics and who makes Dinny feel guilty about her passion for the ancient world. It takes almost the whole of the book to dispense with the somewhat tiresome Steve, but the ending is all one could have wished for. Not only do things look good for Dinny’s future with grad student Brad Kenyon, but, following a trip to the Mediterranean that’s been her goal throughout the series, she plans to start college, studying archeology at the University of Chicago.

Older and happier, having found myself and my friends at the same place, I couldn’t help but smile—Dinny and I had ended up together after all.

Readers debate dean of students in the College John Ellison’s letter to the Class of 2020; discuss voter education and the merits of capitalism; share memories of historian William H. McNeill, LAB’34, AB’38, AM’39, track coach Ted Haydon, LAB’29, PhB’33, AM’54, and the beloved T-Hut; and more.